


In hind sight

by drachoemaloy



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky goes by James, M/M, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Steve is cool with this, analysing the future, assessing the past, but no time travel, pre slash, time talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-06 03:45:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17932232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drachoemaloy/pseuds/drachoemaloy
Summary: It was right on the tip of his tongue. All he had to do was let it out. It would be so funny! Steve would probably stop to laugh and maybe he would fall into him, but it would be so worth it."Hey, Tony..." He started, willing himself to keep a straight face."I swear to God, Barnes," Tony interrupted, "If you say my dad promised you a flying car, you can get the hell out of my lab."





	In hind sight

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote this in my Mock Exam. The theme was the future and I wasn't not going to write about Bucky in the future. But, I panicked half-way through because I didn't know if my teacher knew Marvel characters so I called him James and put a "The characters aren't mine lol" in the corner. That's also why it's pre stuckony because I was not about to write gay poly in a serious Engish exam. But, they're highkey flirting and there are slip-ups where I've made it gay accidentally. I also had to make it PG because it was an exam so that's why there's no swearing and the rating is lower.

It was right on the tip of his tongue. All he had to do was let it out. It would be so funny! Steve would probably stop to laugh and maybe he would fall into him, but it would be so worth it.

"Hey, Tony..." He started, willing himself to keep a straight face.

"I swear to God, Barnes," Tony interrupted, "If you say my dad promised you a flying car, you can get the hell out of my lab." 

James paused; Tony had to suck the fun out of everything.

"Look what you've done Tones," Steve looked back on James, "You've made him pout." Jame stuck out his bottom lip farther to emphasise it.

"You ruined it for him." Tony didn't even turn around. "You held a grudge for a month." Tony gestured for James to sit in the chair next to the main table. It looked scarily like a dentist's chair. James shuffled over to sit in it, all while maintaining his pout.

"A month, Steve," Tony repeated for emphasis, "of you giving me puppy-dog eyes because I didn't show you my flying car." 

James dropped his pouting act and snorted instead. he had been on the receiving end of Steve's puppy-dog eyes for longer than that - it was not fun.

"Well, back during the war, it was either new guns or flying cars." Steve rolled his eyes and placed a hand on James' good shoulder.

"I prefer Tony's future to Howard's future," James mused, "The technology is..."

"Gorgeous," Tony finished for him, "I know."

"A flying car would be gorgeous too, you know." James grinned right back at him and watched Tony's smirk evolve into a frown.

"They're so impractical!" Tony huffed, "There would be no difference between air traffic to land traffic. Well, apart from having to watch your head all the time..." James let out a happy sigh at Tony's rant. The future was easy. A lot easier than he thought it would be, at least.

He thought that talking to Tony would remind him of Howard but Tony was nothing like his father (ignoring looks) and it was somehow reassuring. It must have been 1943 when James and Steve went to Stark Expo. James had immediately fallen in love with all things science and the future. Of course, then, he was going to war, he had no idea that he would go to sleep and wake up one day in the future he dreamed of. The father and son were nearly equally as smart (with their given resources and time alive), but something never quite sat right with James that Howard focused more on himself than the war. It was completely different from Tony. Tony loved helping other people as much as he loved his tech.

"So don't think I'm ever going to make a flying car. It is a waste of my, quite frankly valuable, time." James blinked as he emerged from his thoughts to catch the last bit of Tony's rant.

"Alright, Tony, no need to bore us half to death." The words were harsh but Steve said them in the same tone he always used, that proved how much he was in love with Tony's technology, even if he didn't understand it. But, then again, Steve was an artist. He found confusing things beautiful.

James was glad Steve hadn't changed much in the 70-odd years between the past and the future. That's what James was the most scared of when he woke up: not having Steve. Of course, the stupid punk had crashed a plane into ice and been frozen for 70 years (James was still wrapping his head around that one; he couldn't fathom how it worked but knew if it would've happened to anyone, it would've happened to Steve). Actually, that was probably what sacred steve the most when James woke up: him finding out how he 'died'. James decided it would have been awful in the future had Steve not been there. He would have eventually managed and coped but Steve kept him sane, and to know that Steve's self-sacrificing, patriotic, stubborn self was still the same in the future was even more comforting.

"Earth to Barnes." Tony clicked his fingers in front of James' face.

"Sorry," He said sheepishly, "got lost in the past." He grinned. Steve gave him a sad smile but James waved him off. I wasn't anything to be upset about. James loved the future. He loved the freedom and peace - what should have been there anyway, and what he fought for. He loved the technology - everything was so much easier when you could do anything with a few buttons. He loved his friends and the fact that he didn't have to constantly steal for them like he had to growing up in Brooklyn or make sure they weren't killed in the war. The one thing he loved the most, though, more than anything he else in the future, was the coffee. It was so much better than the tar they had to drink during the war. Plus, you could add things like creamer or caramel. James adored coffee.

"He did it again." James felt a nudge at his shoulder.

"Sorry, I'm just tired." He gave them both a reassuring smile.

"That's not a bad thing." Tony fiddles with something to the side. "It will help with the anaesthetic."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Steve's hand was firm on James' shoulder when he asked.

"You're asking if I'd rather not take advantage of knowing the world's best engineer and walk around with no arm forever?" James deadpanned and Steve removed his hand to put it up in mock surrender (like Steve would ever give up on anything). "I'm ready Tony." He looked over to see Tony giving him an amused look.

"Can I get that on a mug? 'World's best engineer' - Sargent James Buchanan Barnes." James rolled his eyes with a smile.

"Only if I can drink out of it," he replied as he closed his eyes.

"Deal," Tony agreed, "Now this is going to hurt a little bit while I put you out, but afterwards you'll, hopefully, get a new working arm and lots of coffee." Tony's voice was soft in his ear and James felt the needle pierce his skin where Steve's hand was a second ago. Wait, when did Steve move his hand? James must have been more tired than he thought. "Just relax." And James did, allowing the drowsiness to consume him at the promise of coffee.


End file.
